Rolling along (2001)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on March 29, 2001 @ Las Vegas CityLife.

The zipper, the apple pie -- and now, Tomcats' runaway testicle

Tomcats is a raunchy, rambunctious, crowd-pleasing film. It has a scene with our hero chasing after a bouncing, runaway testicle through a hospital that will define the film like The Zipper defined There's Something About Mary. Its a film full of surprises -- some forced, but a lot fresh.

It's the comic story of a group of young men who make a bet that the last one not married will win an accumulated fortune. When Michael (Jerry O'Connell) loses $51,000 in a casino in Las Vegas, "quasi-criminal Vegas types" demand payment. Michael then plans with Natalie (Shannon Elizabeth) to get Kyle (Jake Busey), the last unmarried guy in his way, to marry her and agrees to split the money with her. Along the way there are a lot of pratfalls and pitfalls.

A few scenes don't work as well as they should -- e.g., a girl chasing a golf cart -- but most do. Two memorable scenes are the men at attention during the wedding and a rowdy reunion at a restaurant. But the piece de resistance is the rollicking hospital scene.

The frenetic story is well-served by its cast. O'Connell is very likable as the klutzy Michael -- a close relative of the Roadrunner. Elizabeth is fetching as the main love interest, and Busey makes a good amoral cad.

Writer/director Gregory Poirer exhibits polish and aplomb in his debut feature. He spoofs other films such as Apocalypse Now ("I love the smell of bridesmaids in the morning"), Mission Impossible and American Beauty, but his greatest resource seems to be the outrageous physical comedy that comes from animated cartoons.

Tomcats is full of beautiful women, and some not so lovely. The moral of the film is this: Watch out for French pastry.